Category: Devotionals

Luke 2:10-12  “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

I grew up with several notions in my head that I really believed were true until I became an adult and realized that watermelon seeds didn’t sprout in my stomach and butter was not good to apply on a burn. These sayings were passed down from generation to generation in my family, and I never disputed them (or others), but like the seeds and butter, I have found that sometimes my understanding of certain concepts is based on assumption rather than fact. Sadly, sometimes this crosses over in my understanding of Scripture. For example, I had once assumed that the apple was the fruit of which Eve and Adam ate, but the exact fruit is not mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 3:6).

I recently realized that there is no mention of a stable in regards to the birth of Jesus, nor does the Bible record that an innkeeper provided an alternate place for Mary and Joseph to stay since there was “no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). This “discovery” of mine compelled me to wonder, “If not in a stable, then where was Jesus born?” Read more

This time of year, my living room is cluttered with wrapping paper, boxes, ribbons, and bows as I carefully wrap the presents I have purchased for my family and friends. Sitting beneath the bright, shiny twinkling lights of my Christmas tree, the pretty packages add to the anticipation of Christmas as I see them day after day. Every so often, my granddaughters will pull out one of the their gifts, give it a shake, hoping for a clue as to its contents. The joy on their faces is priceless!

I love Christmas! Every part of it! The hustle and bustle of shopping, the decorations on the houses, Christmas movies, and baking holiday treats. Unfortunately, it’s easy to become so consumed with all the shopping and preparations for Christmas that we lose our focus on what is the most precious gift of all! Read more

Having you ever wondered why people celebrate Christmas? It’s a wonderful time of year! It is a time of decorating trees, giving gifts to those we love, spending time with family. It’s colored lights twinkling on houses, songs about mistletoe and jingle bells, and sugar cookies in the shapes of snowmen, reindeer, and Santa Claus. But is this really Christmas? It seems like there must be more to this holiday than decking the halls with boughs of holly, doesn’t it?  For me, there is!

Here are six reasons that I celebrate Christmas. Read more

Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

The first part of this verse focuses on the word of Christ dwelling richly in me in all wisdom. From where does this wisdom come? The answer is in the Bible in James 1:5. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” And then in James 3:17, it says, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” In order for me to be the living sacrifice that God desires (Romans 12:1), His Word must be established within me, and I must walk according to it (Psalm 119:133). So, I need to ask God for wisdom as I diligently read my Bible, meditate upon it, and hide its words in my heart.

The second part of today’s verse says I should teach and admonish (urge earnestly) others through singing. I am so grateful to have the Holy Spirit reveal to me that singing is multi-purposeful! Read more

Colossians 2:6-7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

I vividly remember the day that I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour. As I sat in the pew listening to a missionary share the gospel, I was deeply convicted of my sin. The moment the invitation was given, I rushed to the altar to seek His forgiveness and receive His gift of salvation. That was the easy part.

I have discovered that living a life for Christ is hard work. Facing those day-after-day struggles while trying to follow in Jesus’ footsteps is not an easy task for me. The lure of the world is unending; the pleasures of sin, albeit for just a season (Hebrews 11:25) are constantly a temptation. To use the “escape route” provided to me by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 10:13) is not always my first thought. Why is that? Because it is easy for me to rationalize and consent to sin with lies that I choose to believe. Why would I do that? Because sin can be very enjoyable. That’s part of its allure. Have you ever heard the phrase, “It doesn’t hurt anyone”? I have, and I’ve bought into it… for years. Regrettably, I have used that as an excuse for my own sin many times. Listening to worldly music or watching an ungodly television show doesn’t hurt anyone, does it? Harboring unkind thoughts about others, but never voicing them, that doesn’t hurt anyone, right?  WRONG! Read more

I Thessalonians 5:18 – “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

This past Sunday, my pastor delivered a message using the word “thanksgiving” as an acrostic to identify things from Scripture for which he was grateful. His challenge was for us to write our own list, so I chose the word “thankful” for my acrostic. This was a unique way to help me focus my gratitude on the Lord for a few of the things He has done for me. As you read through my list, I would encourage you to choose a word of thanks for yourself and create your own acrostic, identifying some of the blessings for which you are most grateful this Thanksgiving season! Read more

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

One of the most illuminating things I have learned about the Bible is that it is to be read with an understanding of Jewish culture. As I learn more about the lives of God’s chosen people, my eyes are opened to the clear connections of their culture to the Scriptures. I realize that there is nothing in the Word of God that is random. Everything is interrelated, and the more I learn about Jewish history, the greater understanding I have of the Bible.

According to the dictionary, the word “strait” is quite different than the word “straight.” The latter means “not crooked,” but the word used in these verses means “a narrow or difficult passageway.” In a spiritual context, the wide way represents the way of the world, which is easy to follow, sinful in nature, and eventually leading to death. The narrow gate is the way of life through Jesus, which is more difficult to follow, yet yields eternal life in heaven. When He told His followers that they were to enter through the strait gate, He was using an illustration that made perfect sense to them. Jesus’ comments were much more than a simple metaphor regarding the path of life we choose.
Last year, when John and I were in Israel, we visited a replica of a 1st century Nazareth village. To enter this village, we had to pass through a city gate. It was a massive gate that had a smaller and more narrow gate set within it. These ancient gates had different purposes, which allowed different types of people to enter. Read more

Joshua 24:15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Our lives are full of choices. Today, we head to the polls to make our choices for various political offices and issues of which the battles have been quite fierce. It has been extremely difficult to discern fact from fiction, which in turn makes it hard to choose wisely when voting. How do you know what is truth and what is false as you listen to the candidates clamoring for your vote? Even researching on one’s own can be overwhelming, especially with all the negativity that is on the airwaves and social media. In the end, some simply choose to vote along party lines, while others allow celebrities or athletes to influence their votes. There are those who vote according to their religious beliefs, and others who follow their own personal convictions. There are some whose enthusiasm for our civic duty propels them to cast their votes early, and sadly there are also those who do not vote at all. Read more

Isaiah 9:2 “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”

In 2017, parts of the eastern US was affected by a total solar eclipse. It was pretty exciting for my family. We bought the special glasses, and my son-in-law even made special boxes for viewing the event. While we were not in the direct path of the total eclipse, we were in the penumbral section, which meant we would see a partial solar eclipse. In our area, it was reported that 99.2% of the sun would be obscured by the moon, so only a mere sliver of sunlight would remain visible to us. We had such high hopes to be in near darkness, but that never happened for us! That tiny sliver of sunlight was enough to eliminate our immersion into total darkness. While the daylight dimmed somewhat, and we saw an increase in shadows, less than one percent of sunlight prevented the darkness from enveloping us. Read more

Psalm 119:105 “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

I never really think about flashlights until I need one, and then I am so grateful for them! Once in a while, our power goes out, usually when there is a strong storm. It’s not a problem in the daylight hours, but when night falls, my once familiar home becomes an obstacle course! Without electricity, I bump into the corner of chairs or tables, or I step on things I thoughtlessly left on the floor. After I have groped through a drawer, my searching fingers finally find the flashlight, and now I can see the right path to take through the house, avoiding the pitfalls of a misplaced shoe or pulled out chair. Read more